Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ was on Thursday sworn in as Nepal’s new Prime Minister, a day after being elected by lawmakers for the top post for the second time.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered oath of office to the 61-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre chairman at Rastrapati Bhawan, formally making him the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal.

Prachanda formed a six-member cabinet that includes two deputy prime ministers.

Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara is the Deputy Prime Minister with the portfolio of Finance and Nepali Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi is the Deputy Prime Minister with Home portfolio in the new cabinet.

After being elected on Wednesday, Prachanda had promised to lead the nation toward economic development while working as a bridge between communities.

This is the second time the Maoist chief has become Prime Minister after his brief stint with premiership came to an end in 2009. He is also the only communist leader to become the Prime Minister of the country twice.

Prachanda was the premier from 2008 to 2009 before a disagreement with the military over his attempt to sack the army chief brought his period in office to an early end.

The Prime Minister’s post had been left vacant since last month after CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli tendered his resignation.

Modi's opposite. One is a pracharak, the other is a prachanda (fierce). One stands for conservatism and protecting the ancient hegemony; the other stands for throwing the yoke of the past out and embracing a revolutionary future; one stands for exclusivism of the elite, masking that very agenda as the best for all; the other stands for the poor and the excluded.